This State Quietly Became The Ultimate Destination For Happy Retirees In 2025 (And It's Not On The Coast)

The retirement dream is often painted as living in a beachfront house and filling your days with cocktails and shore walks. This certainly sounds like an amazing way to spend your golden years, but retirees searching for the happiest retirement spot should look away from the country's coastlines and toward landlocked Utah. Caring.com recently published a senior happiness index report, and naturally beautiful Utah came out as the number one best state for seniors, followed by Idaho in second place, and Connecticut and Delaware tied in third place. To determine the ranking, Caring.com looked at each state's happiness levels, senior health rates, and number of senior centers.

According to the report, Utah has one of the best overall happiness scores in the U.S., with residents reporting high life satisfaction. It is also the top state for senior health and has the highest rate of seniors who do volunteer activities. Utah locks its ranking by also having low levels of seniors living alone. Basically, people 65 and over in Utah are engaged in their community, remain active, have access to good-quality healthcare, and enjoy companionship at home. Move over, Florida and California; the retirement fantasy is changing, and it has mountains and deserts instead of beaches.

Retirement is the time to do all the things you couldn't do when you were tied to a 9-to-5 job or raising children to be healthy, happy, and hopefully not jerks. When deciding where to spend their years of freedom, people should look for places offering plenty of things to do. Utah fits the bill with some of the country's most breathtaking landscapes, including the aspen-filled Fishlake National Forest and five national parks you can visit on an unforgettable Utah road trip. Winter brings with it the opportunity to ski (or just enjoy the après-ski events), spring and fall are perfect for hiking, and summer is great for boating in large, glistening lakes.

Retirees who gravitate more toward a soft life can simply relax knowing they're in one of the states with the lowest crime rates. They also probably won't have to worry about loud, raucous neighbors that ruin their sleep with all-night parties, as this is one of the states with the lowest levels of alcohol consumption. 

Overall, Utah is a place for those looking for a quiet, simple life surrounded by beautiful nature. And if you ever want the beach, you'll be a quick plane ride away from the West Coast and Mexico. Luckily, Salt Lake City International Airport is one of the easiest-to-navigate airports in America, so traveling will be a breeze.